Did you swim today?
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Great swims again, Everybody!!!
Curly - now that you've broken through the distance will start to stack up quickly, especially as you get more & more confident in it. Great work!!!!
Like AQ, it was a slog getting through it today - I had a serious case of heavy arms. Although my set times were good, my arms felt like they weighed a ton. I was seriously debating going off the plan & trying IM's today, maybe this was my body's way of saying, "Hell no - we're sticking with just free a little longer." Did my usual free sets: 250, 500, 1000, 1500, 1500, 1000, 500, 250.....0 -
Curly... woohoo and kudos to you! I haven't made that second full lap freestyle... but it's closer than it was. I had a great swim today! 60 minutes combining freestyle, breastroke and adding water jogging in between. Topped off with 6 laps of water jogging at the end. I did try left side breathing and breathing on the third stroke. It was awkward, but not as strange-feeling as I thought. I actually could see how it could help me make my freestyle laps.
Yes, I'm a bit pooped as I sit here, but I'm so looking forward to tomorrow morning as I will complete my 4th swim workout for the week.
Again, I so appreciate all the comments and suggestions. This group is a great resource!
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Well done all !
I did a usual 1k in a good time for me (31 mins) - even more pleasing was I did again manage a fair bit of focus in my core. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.
I know this, as my tummy muscles are now gently reminding me.....0 -
Mac & AQ, it's really motivating to hearthat more seasoned swimmers have tough days in the water. Like noel said, even those who make it look easy probably have all kinds of things that they are working on. When you're new at something as an adult, sometimes it feels like it's always difficult (or that it's going to stay difficult for much longer than it would if you were a 10 year old!). It's awesome to hear you guys say that you push through and have the same mental and psychological challenge on a day when you're just not feeling it.
turtle, water jogging is quite possibly one of the hardest workouts I have ever done (and hands down, the MOST boring, lol!). You really worked hard! I would love to add a different stroke in to switch things up, but when I look at videos of how to do them correctly, I realize that my timing is off (breaststroke) and rather than learn it wrong, I'm tabling any new strokes for now.
gently, I want tummy muscles to feel the work! I have so much to focus on, I don't think I always have my core engaged...
One of these days it will be. 0 -
girlwithcurls2 wrote: »Mac & AQ, it's really motivating to hearthat more seasoned swimmers have tough days in the water. Like noel said, even those who make it look easy probably have all kinds of things that they are working on. When you're new at something as an adult, sometimes it feels like it's always difficult (or that it's going to stay difficult for much longer than it would if you were a 10 year old!). It's awesome to hear you guys say that you push through and have the same mental and psychological challenge on a day when you're just not feeling it.
turtle, water jogging is quite possibly one of the hardest workouts I have ever done (and hands down, the MOST boring, lol!). You really worked hard! I would love to add a different stroke in to switch things up, but when I look at videos of how to do them correctly, I realize that my timing is off (breaststroke) and rather than learn it wrong, I'm tabling any new strokes for now.
@Curly, I so agree with your comments to Mac & AQ. As for the water jogging, I did it out of necessity.
I knew there was no way I was going make it lap after lap (swimming freestyle) and took advice previously given to mix it up with added drills. It saved me from boredom and, more importantly, from getting frustrated. 0 -
Pool running is THE WORST. Kudos to you for mixing it in.
Like, I cannot and will never swim to music, but I bought a waterproof MP3 *specifically* for pool running. Ugh, ugh, ugh.
(I'm a frequently-injured runner. It's necessary and good for me.)0 -
Thanks for all the inspiration!! Got back in the pool after months of procrastinating...and finished 3000yds in just under an hour...mixed in some drills, kicking & mixing in lots of backstroke, breaststroke and even a few laps of fly drill! Looking forward to getting in the pool at least once a week...I don't know if I can handle the chlorine in my pores more than that!0
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1000m free + 100m Kick drills + 100m Breast + Flip turns, and a little Sauna time.
14 lane swimmers and 3 double lanes so it was 0 -
A big celebration to all us swimmers - I've just noticed this will make post 1000 on this thread...
Hurrah! 3 cheers! Pop of champagne bottle etc etc!
Happy swimming everyone. X1 -
gentlygently wrote: »A big celebration to all us swimmers - I've just noticed this will make post 1000 on this thread...
Hurrah! 3 cheers! Pop of champagne bottle etc etc!
Happy swimming everyone. X
Hurrah Hurrah Hurrah!
Here's to the next thousand!
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Yes! Yes! yes - 5km in 1 hour and 40 minutes!!! At last I have done it. And that included tiny rests after each km Now to do this with flip turns - that's going to take some time as flip turns drain me. 0
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Swim today? I did, but not my best swim. Just couldn't get my breathing or rhythm in sync. Too much on my brain and couldn't concentrate. I did persevere for 40 minutes, however, mixing laps of freestyle (although not many) with breaststroke, backstroke with some running. I added 20 min. of water jogging at the end to get to an hour of activity. Hoping Monday's workout will be better.
So happy to read all the successes posted - it does motivate me to know I can and will get there, as well as the frustrations, knowing "off" days happen to everyone.0 -
With the BIG increase in activity lately, I'm thinking we'll be a lot faster to 2,000 posts than we were to 1,000!!!!
Curly - EVERYBODY in any sport, no matter how proficient has those days. Friday was 1 where I particularly felt it, but I get it to some extent on a lot of days. The biggest difference between now & back when I first started thinking about doing this is the motivation I get from all of you guys here - those days when I don't want to get out of bed to make the trip - I think about how you guys are getting yourselves into the pool no matter how you're feeling & it motivates me to drag myself off.....
Cheshire - I absolutely LOVE swimming with my music, for it actually keeps my mind from wandering so far that I completely lose count of my yards during a set. Just goes to show that we're all individuals with our own preferences & the best we can do for ourselves is to find out what works best for ourselves.....
Renee, Juliet, Panda - great swims!!!!
Panda - like building distance, the endurance for the flip turns will come pretty quickly. Start out doing as many as you can & see if you can add 1 more per swim session or 2. When I first got back to swimming I couldn't do them because I found I was getting severe cramping in my calves that wouldn't happen if I did open turns. I found out later on that I have an auto-immune disorder that affects my nerve activity, when I started getting treatments for that (those treatments are why I automatically lose a week a month in the pool) I noticed even less of a problem with the calves. I started doing flip turns & could only do a few at first, but I was able to add 1 a session & pretty soon I was adding 5 a session & so on, until now I do all flip turns in my freestyle sets without any cramping issues (especially when I remember to stretch my legs between sets)....0 -
My favorite water fitness class today. This gal is awesome. I jumped out when they got to stretching to get a few laps in. It felt good. I'm definitely at a new spot in my technique. I'd love to learn flip turns because when I get to the end of the lane, I automatically want to stop and catch my breath. It throws my rhythm off. Every now and then too, I feel like swimming shallow to deep (or vice versa) is an easier swim for me. No idea what that's about. My rhythm was great going one direction today, but it took a few strokes to get it, and a lot of concentration, on the way back.0
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Macstraw - what MP3 player/headphones do you have? The big reason I can't swim with mine is that the volume changes so dramatically every time I breathe (one or both ears out of the water). I am a music junkie and I'd love to add music to my swim days as well.
Of course, that might ruin the one motivation to aquajog that I still have...hrm...
I'm about to head over to the pool. I have no plan. This should be interesting.0 -
[quote="cheshirecatastrophe;31209556"
Of course, that might ruin the one motivation to aquajog that I still have...hrm...
I'm about to head over to the pool. I have no plan. This should be interesting.[/quote]
This made me laugh... :agree:
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Cheshire - I use a waterproofed iPod shuffle & the headphones I use are the short cord ones. I've tried 2 different kinds of headphones, the ones I currently have in use are the Swimbuds from Underwater Audio & the other ones are from Waterfi. You can get the iPod bundled with the Waterfi headphones either on Amazon or directly from www.waterfi.com. The Swimbuds headphones are also available on Amazon or directly from www.underwateraudio.com. As with any electronics around water, there's only a cdertain shelf life to the headphones - the Waterfi ones seem to last longer than the Swimbuds, but the sound on the Swimbuds is a little better. Both kinds have different size earbuds to fit different sized & shaped ears that create a watertight seal, so the volume level stays pretty consistent. Being a live music junkie, I'm always loading concerts on to listen to. As for the iPod itself - my wife got it for me, partly based on customer reviews of their customer service. The 1st one she got me crapped out almost right away, they replaced it for me immediately with no problems at all. It lasted me about 2 years & it crapped out so I ordered a new one. The same thing happened - the one they sent crapped out right away & again it was no problem at all getting it exchanged. While I was waiting for the "new" ne one to arrive I tried my original one again & it worked, so I keep that one on hand as a spare. I'm in the water for 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 hours a day 4-5 days a week for a good portion of the year, so my iPod get PLENTY of use & I couldn't be happier with it....0
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500 free, 200 breast, 200 back, 100 kick drills. Sauna time.
In my main pool they usually have 70s-90s classic rock playing over the underwater speakers and public address system during Lane swims so we always have music.
Panda: Way to go girl 5 km (*) . Bows head in humble humility hoping to manage that distance one day. A big constraint on me is that Lane swim is only available in 1 hr segments and with only 3 double lanes it is very seldom that you have a free lane all by yourself.
turtle: persevered to the end - as Noel would say its a jelly bean in the jar. With all things in life there is the odd bad day thrown in just to remind us of the good and really good days.
Curls : Flip turns was one of the items from my last swim lessons. I probably only do 8-12 per swim session right now as I am still "refining my technique" and if I do a really bad turn I can get a very uncomfortable feeling- like I just came off a wild roller coaster ride- so I just throw a few in at the start and end of the session. When you do get a lesson on them it's like any other swimming technique - expect to have a few misses for the first while.
My common mistakes are coming into the wall to slow to complete the flip, to close to the wall, to far from the wall and my feet have nothing but water to push off from, over - or under rotating and the one that can be really disorienting for me is doing a spiral - corkscrew flip by not keeping the head straight with the spine. Dropping your chin onto your chest starts the flip but I tend to turn my head a little to the right which then puts me into the "right handed corkscrew spiral flip". That's when I surface feeling like I came off the roller coaster. I swim through it by reverting to a very slow 4 stroke single sided breathing to minimize head movement.0 -
Wow that is a fantastic time! The day I hit a 5km time that quick will be a very good day!Yes! Yes! yes - 5km in 1 hour and 40 minutes!!! At last I have done it. And that included tiny rests after each km Now to do this with flip turns - that's going to take some time as flip turns drain me.
Now even more motivated.
I seem to have injured my hip on my "off days",
Hoping no ill effects as I jump back in the pool Monday!
Great job!0 -
It turns out that I am very boring, and "no plan" was just an abbreviated version of a fairly typical workout for me:
500 warmup
10x100 free hard (my interval is not quite back where I want it--but I hit all 10 of them, go me! and :10 faster than Monday!)
2x100 IM and then my foot cramp said fly was done for the day
2x(3x50) free descending to sprint
for a tidy 2000y
@AquaticQuests, good luck with your hip! Do you foam roll or do hip girdle exercises or anything?0 -
Juliet - like anything else, the more you do flip turns the better they will become. The distance from the wall will come quickly - a good reference point is the end of the line on the floor, where it comes to a "T". Figure out compared to that where you want to start your turn, once you figure that out just hit it at that spot. Some people like a more open turn (almost like a diver in the pike position, or the body shaped like a boomerang) & they tend to start their turn a little further away from the wall. Others like a much tighter turn, where they are curled into a tight ball & they get much closer to the wall. Find what type works best for you & you'll be able to find the right distance from the wall.....
As for the turn itself, you're absolutely right that speed makes the difference. The more momentum you take going into the turn, the faster the flip will be. The biggest issue I see affecting this happens when you pick your head up to look at the wall in front of you - you lose all your forward momentum. This is where learning your spot based on the line on the floor of the pool comes into play - you can keep your head down & when you hit that spot you pull your chin down t your chest. You will flip over much faster, & if you can keep from turning the head to the side you will go straight over. Try to remember to not take a breath within the last 2 strokes (at the least) into the turn, taking that breath right before the turn has the same effect as picking your head up to look at the wall....
Try to increase the # of flip turns each session, the more of them you do the less likely you will be to have that disoriented feeling - both because the turns will get better & the issues that cause that feeling will be reduced & because you will become more used to that feeling & (as silly as it might sound) it won't feel so off-putting to you....0 -
AQ - hope the hip feels better, stretch really well before you swim & between sets. It will definitely help.....0
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Cheshire - nice workout. No plan doesn't usually really work out like that because we fall back on our tried & trues.....0
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250 free, 250 breast, 250 back and ?? kick drills and ?? bilateral breathing.
Extremely crowded in the lanes and lost track of my counts.
Mac thanks for the Tips and encouragement - Flip turns are slowly getting better.
I like splitting my drills between the start of my swim and the end - I find that when I get away from something for a little while when I go back to it some small part of the drill has clicked into automatic and I can concentrate on something else.0 -
2.5 miles today. 10 x 400 yards, then some sprints and cool down laps.0
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I do the same thing, Juliet, & I'll add on at the end first so that I get the bulk of my work done in case I wear myself out....0
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2.5 km 58ish
Thanks people. Happily no ill effects from the hip strain on the swimming 0 -
Yes, 2 miles @ 65 minutes0
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No swimming until Saturday for me now - off to Madrid with work and no pool in the hotel. Will be trying to do more flip turns on Saturday though - thanks for the advice McStraw - I will follow it.0
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2.5 km 57 min
Actually beginning to have brief periods of feeling a more relaxed stroke at this new high stroke rate!
They are brief glimpses, but that is progress 0
